27 December 2006 - San Diego

We woke up in San Diego to pouring rain as a fast moving Pacific storm blasted through the area. Once the rain finished the wind remained. The beach seemed unlikely. As did getting a run in.

PEETS

We often seek out the local Peets when traveling. If there is one. This has worked out pretty well as it both gets us our coffee and has often led us to a more interesting area of a new city. Today's excursion took us to the Hillcrest area of San Diego which is an area which actually has a little soul: filled with interesting shops and appealing restaurants. Plus, we found a secret route between the back of our motel and the area, so we've hardly had to acknowledge the fact that our motel is on some horrible hotel circle alongside a freeway. We just duck out the back, head up the hill past some UCSD parking lots, and we're in a different world. Fun.

REI

Our other favorite place is REI. After Peets we drove out to one of the REI's in San Diego to grab a few things before heading into Mexico tomorrow.

The closer we got, the more suburban it got until I would officially describe it as suburban hell. Giant single family homes popping up in clusters of monopoly houses. The REI itself is across the road from the Walmart in the 'town square'. The town square was in fact a mall with one of those pretend streets and a bunch of stores you'd never need.

Is it just me, or has REI sunk to new levels?

Inside the REI itself was fine and the man working the trail running shoes really knew what he was talking about. The two of us talked motion control.
We got what we needed and a few extra 'Life is good' hats and got out of there.

CORONADO

We drove from REI to Coronado Island, taking a freeway within fleeing distance of Mexico. We saw out first watch out of illegal immigrants running across the road sign. We drove by the amphibious base, home of the Navy SEALs including a rather fun looking obstacle course. Its a pity they don't have demonstrations, because that would be worth turning up for. Perhaps one lucky member of the audience could get their throat slit. Seems, though, that San Diego is a pretty cushy place. Do you want to reward the best by stationing them in paradise, or send them somewhere more brutal to toughen them up?

We parked by the Coronado Hotel and walked around. Kelly played gamely on the beach for a while in 50 mph winds wiping sand at her as she tried to use her little plastic shovel and bucket.

FISH

For lunch we hit the main San Diego waterfront for the major tourist spot: Anthony's Fish Shack. With the waves and gale force winds, plus it being the holidays, the tourists were down and it was actually pretty fun. The seagulls still lined up the beg, and the fish and chips were still pretty good.